1941 Lynde Map of Pasadena, California

A detailed 1941 map of Pasadena, California, drawn by John L. Lynde and published by Login Printing and Binding for the Union National Bank of Pasadena.

A Closer Look

Taking in Pasadena, coverage extends to include Altadena and portions of San Marino, South Pasadena, Flintridge (not labeled, now part of La Cañada Flintridge), and the Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains (Sierra Madre). Local landmarks, including the Rose Bowl at left, Cal Tech (the California Institute of Technology) at center towards bottom, and the Huntington Library just to the south of Cal Tech, are prominent. Colorado St. (now Colorado Blvd., an important part of the historic U.S. Route 66) and Fair Oaks Avenue are outlined in red, and circles emanate from their intersection at half-mile intervals. Local streets are labeled, as are rail lines (of the Pacific Electric, Southern Pacific, and Santa Fe), waterways, hiking trails, canyons, and the remnants of the Mt. Lowe Railway near Rubio Canyon (drawn but not labeled). Schools (marked according to a legend at right), parks, cemeteries, government offices, golf courses, and other public institutions are noted.

Two small portions of L. A. County property are cut out of the city at right, north and south of Colorado Street. The northern portion and adjacent areas between Maple and Corson Streets were later demolished to build Interstate 210, the Foothill Freeway, as was a portion of a historic Black neighborhood near the Rose Bowl in northwest Pasadena. The map is surrounded by an alphanumeric grid corresponding to a street index on the verso. The verso also includes a table of distances between Pasadena and other cities in Southern California and advertisements for the Union National Bank of Pasadena.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by John L. Lynde and published by Login Printing and Binding Co. in 1941. It was issued several times between 1940 and 1946. Regardless of printing, this is a rare map. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee holds examples dated 1940 and 1946, while a couple of additional examples dated 1941 - 1946 have appeared on the market in recent years.